you have the iranian plateau. you have the anatolian land bridge and you have the arabian peninsula. now, the iranian plateau is a natural geographical feature. and on it have been strong iranian states since antiquity, starting with the partians and going all theay through right up to the ayatollahs today. so there's nothing artificial about iran. also, it's a very strategic space because the iranian plateau boarders the caspian sea region in the north which where all the oil and natural gas and the persian gulf in the south, all the oil. and their persian gulf coast is almost 1,400 miles long when you count the inlets. it's more than twice as long as any other country's persian gulf frontier. coastline. so japan is -- iran is very geographically blessed. >> rose: okay, but i'd ask this question. if you look at a country there in the middle east, is it geography or is it natural resources that have shaped it or do you argue that geography and nature of a place provides or gives you some understanding of the natur